Housing

Persons who hold a rental contract for the home that constitutes their habitual and permanent residence within the territory of Catalonia.

Beneficiaries must fulfil the following requirements:

• Proof of legal residence in Catalonia.
• Have an income lower than 0,3 times the Adequate Income Indicator of Catalonia (IRSC), or equivalent to 0,3 times the IPREM. Income must be sufficient for the payment of rent.
• Hold a rental contract for a home that is their habitual residence. If the contract was formalised as of 1 June 2013, the applicant must prove compliance with the tenant obligation to pay a deposit to the property owner.
• Monthly rent cannot exceed 800 euros, or 900 euros for large families.
• Be up to date with the payment of rent at the time of submitting the application.
• Collection of the subsidy must be done through a financial institution.
• Rent must be paid by bank transfer, direct debit, account deposit or receipt issued by the property owner or manager, at least from the month following the submission date of the application.
• Not be subject to any of the incompatibilities to receiving subsidies (Article 13 of the Law on Subsidies).
• Be compliant with tax and Social Security obligations. The Housing Agency of Catalonia will verify this obligation before issuing the corresponding resolution.
• Neither the applicant nor any member of the household can own a home or have rights to the use of one, unless they do not have the right to its use and enjoyment.
• Neither the holder of the rental contract nor any member of the household can be related by marriage or other similar stable relationship, by consanguinity, adoption or affinity up to the second degree with the property owner.
• The applicant household cannot have savings declared in the IRPF that are superior to 500 euros, except in the event that this amount corresponds to a dation in payment as a result of a foreclosure on a home that was previously the habitual and permanent residence of the applicant. In these cases, the deed to the home must be presented.
• The home cannot be managed by the Housing Agency of Catalonia.

• Application form for the subsidy for rent payment (CAT), including:
  • Authorisation of the applicant and of all members of the household for the bodies managing the applications to request and obtain data required for the processing and follow-up of the application.
• Responsible declaration (CAT) by the applicant stating compliance with the requirements established in this call and stating that they are not subject to exclusion due to any of the ineligibilities also established in this call.
• Identification document (DNI / NIF / NIE or passport) of all adult members of the household. If any member has changed from NIE to DNI, they must include in the application their previous NIE identification document.
• Certificate of cohabitation proving that the home is the habitual residence of all the people in the household.
• Family record book, if applicable
• Rental contract in the name of the applicant. If the applicant is not the holder of the rental agreement, s/he must prove the right to use of the home, by providing the subrogation, court ruling or, as the case may be, separation or divorce agreement.
• Rent payment receipts corresponding to the year of the call that have been paid up to the submission date of the application, with the data required for the payment system used.
• Proof of income of the applicant and of each member of the household that is of working age corresponding to the year 2019. Depending on the case, income must be accredited as follows:
  • Personal income tax declaration (IRPF) for the 2019 fiscal year.
  • If there are members of the household who are not required to file an income tax declaration, the imputation certificate from the State Tax Administration Agency (AEAT) and the working life report or the corresponding certificate of tax exempt pensions or benefits of 2019 must be submitted. The working life report must be obtained through the Social Security website or by phone 901 502 050.
    • Important: If the income is accredited by means of this declaration, other supporting documents will not be accepted. Therefore, if a person provides various declarations, it is necessary to add all the amounts and the total shall be used in the standardised responsible declaration of income.
  • In the case of exceptional situations in which the applicant or a member of the household had a significant change in declared income the income for the year 2021 of the cohabitation unit in the following cases: divorce, separation, widowhood and change of employment situation with a significant increase or decrease in income, the household income of that year will be admitted. In these cases, the applicant must provide a responsible declaration stating the cause of the significant change in income in relation to the general period that must be accredited for the call, as well as the income obtained during the year corresponding to the call.
• In the case that all household income is accredited by means of responsible declarations, the declarations must be accompanied by a report issued by the municipal social services or the director of the Housing Office explaining the socioeconomic situation of the household.
• Standardised bank data form (CAT), in the name of the applicant, with the bank account data required in order to make the payment, stamped by the financial entity.

Specific documentation:

Depending on the family and / or personal situation, the following must also be provided:

• Proof of the eviction or foreclosure process of the home or other recognised and validated intermediation processes in which the home where the applicant previously resided has been lost, such as cases of dation of payment.
• Resolution of the Ministry of the Interior or final judicial sentence, if required to prove that the applicant is a victim of terrorism or threats.
• Certificate from the Department of Labour, Social Affairs and Families, if required to prove that the applicant is a minor in the process of legal emancipation.
• Immigration certificate if required to prove that the applicant is under international protection measures.
• Legal documentation or protection order in force if required to prove that the applicant is in a situation of gender violence

Obtaining data electronically:

When the applicant and the members of the household authorise the managing body to obtain the data necessary for the processing and assessment of the application, it is not necessary to submit the following documentation:

• Certificate of cohabitation that certifies the residence in the home of all people in the household.
• Identity document (DNI) of the applicant and of all members of the household.
• Income tax declaration (IRPF) of the applicant and of all people of working age in the household.
• Certificate of payments, in the case of unemployed persons and pensioners.
• Certificate of the degree of disability, if applicable.
• Single parent or large family card, if applicable.

The Housing Agency of Catalonia may request, directly or through the entities collaborating in the management of this aid, additional documentation to complete their knowledge of the application submitted.

• This subsidy is available. The application period is closed from June 11, 2021.
• The amount of the grant will be 20 percent of the amount of the annual rental income when the effort to pay the rent is equal to or less than 30% of your income.
  • 30 percent of the amount of annual rental income when the effort to pay the rent is more than 30% and less than 40% of income.
  • 40 percent of the amount of the annual rent when the effort to pay the rent is equal to or greater than 40% of the income of the habitual and permanent home, with a maximum limit of 2,400 euros per year per home.
• The subsidy is granted for the year of the call.
• For rental contracts signed between 1 January 2021 and the date established as the deadline for application submission, the subsidy will be granted from the month following the effective date of the contract until December 2021 with a maximum monthly amount of 200 euros.

• This subsidy is incompatible, for the same monthly payments of the same year, with the collection of other aid that has the same purpose from any other public administration or private entities, the total sum of the amounts to be received in the same calendar year does not can be over 4,500 euros.
• Likewise, this subsidy is incompatible with the aid for the payment of rent that is object of the calls of the Housing Consortium of Barcelona.
• Transitorily, until the Law 14/2017 of 20 July on the guaranteed income of citizens is developed and in order to avoid evictions and supplement the guaranteed income of citizens, the aid regulated by these bases are only compatible with the guaranteed income of citizens for single member families who have been beneficiaries of a minimum insertion income or of a non-contributory benefit and at the same time of aid for the payment of rent in the previous year, in order to avoid the loss of housing and eviction.

Payment of the subsidy:

• The payment of this subsidy is subject to budgetary availability established in the call and to the Housing Agency of Catalonia understanding that the beneficiary is up to date with rent payments by any of the following means: presentation of rent receipts (before 30 June 2022), information provided by financial entities that collaborate in the management of this subsidy, or other means.
• The payment of the subsidy must be made through a financial institution.
• The subsidy can be paid directly to the beneficiary or, if it is expressly authorized, to the person that provides a guardianship or mediation service, in favour of which this right is granted.

Selection criteria for evaluating and rating applications:

• Applications will be resolved, according to budgetary availability, through a public competition process, in which all applications submitted by the established deadline will be evaluated and rated, according to the criteria established in this call. A final score, as established in base 11, will be given to each application according to these criteria.
• If there are equal final scores after the evaluation according to the aforementioned criteria, priority will be given to the order of application entry, with all required documentation, into the registry.
• The scores obtained in the event of a tie will be added to the scores of the situations described in base 11.2.

Taxation:

• Given that this aid is a public subsidy and involves capital income, the beneficiary is obliged to present their personal income tax declaration (IRPF), which must include the amount received.

More information can be obtained from the website of the Government of Catalonia.